'I was reasonably happy with the way I played'
After the euphoria of the France win, we came back down to earth with a bump against Wales but fair play to them, they really came out blazing in the first 20 minutes and deserved the win.
We started badly and gifted them fifteen points thanks to myself and Toby Flood being charged down and they physically dominated us from the first minute. We knew that was going to be the case and it was just a question of how we were going to front up against it. But fair play to Wales, they really came at us and played some great rugby.
Just as we gifted France four or five turn-overs in the first ten minutes, we did the same against Wales. The difference is Wales converted their turn-over ball into points whereas France did not. Wales are a very experienced side despite their poor run into the game and they were on the front foot early doors. Hooky absolutely crucified us with his kicking game and the Wales pack allowed him to dictate the game.
Having said that, I’m delighted with the way we came back and we shouldn’t really have been in the game at half time. We really didn’t want half time to come because we had the upper hand at that stage and had just scored two fantastic tries. We lost a bit of momentum after the break but they could possibly have scored another two or three in that first half so we can’t have too many complaints.
I was reasonably happy with the way I played but was disappointed to tweak my glute just before the break. My hamstring was sore all week and it was touch and go whether I would play or not so I’m happy to have lasted forty minutes.
On the positive side, the youngsters really kept fighting and I’m proud of the way we came back from 15-0 down. The concerning thing for me was that it was individual brilliance that created the tries rather than a concerted team effort. We only had one training session on the lead-up to the Wales game so we’ve really had no time to play together and it’s a massive learning curve for those guys. For them to get that big game experience under their belt at the Millennium Stadium is invaluable experience and it was the best atmosphere I’ve ever been involved with. I couldn’t even hear what was being said on the pitch some times. You almost had to make sure the guy was looking at you before you said something because the noise was so loud that you wouldn’t be able to hear anything. It was absolutely incredible and awesome to be a part of.
Hooky absolutely crucified us with his kicking game'
If you look at where we’ve come since the performance we gave at Croke Park, we can be happy. We’ve still got four or five experienced players that could come into the team and marshal the troops a little better but for being together for two weeks beating France and losing to Wales at the Millennium is satisfying. We’re really happy with the expansive way we’ve played and we’ve scored some good tries.
The new guys will have learned a hell of a lot. The likes of Strettle, Geraghty, Flood and Tom Rees will all be around for the World Cup and the next one and probably the one after that. These guys really are the future.
We’ve got to keep on building towards the World Cup and it’s one step at a time.
We’ve got to analyse these past few games and find out where we’ve gone wrong and move forward from an attacking point of view and make sure we get quality first phase ball because we have the runners to cause chaos to any defence. A lot’s down to the coaches to analyse where we went wrong and bounce back.
I hope to be involved in the World Cup and I’m happy with my form. Obviously we’ve got the summer tour to South Africa first and a couple of new names could be brought in but we don’t have that much time to experiment. We also have South Africa in our group so it’s vital that we get things right before we go out there and we can’t afford to be dominated physically like we were against Wales.
Obviously, New Zealand are deservedly favourites but you can’t discount France at home and Australia and South Africa. Hopefully, with the pressure off us we can sneak in the back door and we’ll be gunning for the last eight and then anything can happen. As Brian Ashton says, we are in the second division at the moment and we’ve got to get ourselves out of that before we can start challenging for a World Cup. But yes, I believe there’s a chance we can defend the title if we get things right in every department and it should be another great tournament.
From Cardiff, Mike Catt
Do you agree with Catty? Have your say
19th March 2007
